Digital forensic and evidence recovery specialists were part of the raid team — springing into action after the compound was secured. The team had to rapidly preserve everything, freezing everything on computers so that it didn’t get wiped out. The recovery specialists had to be particularly careful before they unplugged the computers not to trigger software programs designed to destroy hard drives or delete data that may have been installed by bin Laden’s people as protection.

“The trick was to get it out fast but to preserve everything, a source said, “for intelligence purposes first but also for evidence for possible prosecutions,” of terrorists.